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North NJ. Closest place is 30ish minutes away. Amazing guys who will take you step by step over the phone through your brew day if you need it, but they're only Tuesday - Saturday.

Gotcha. Think I could throw the bottles in the fridge for 2 weeks or is it better to go the full 4? Wish I could have. The brew shop is closed on Sundays, hence the forum post. Once you leave on a Saturday in my area, you'd better be good to rock on Sunday or else you're waiting til Tuesday.

Brewed it yesterday, but thanks for the idea.

So after 2 weeks in the basement at 50F, bring the fermenter upstairs where it's 70F for ~3 weeks and then bottle?

So bottle them and let them sit for 3 weeks at about 70˚F? No need to worry about lagering?

So ferment for 2 weeks, carbonate in the bottles (in the basement at ~50 degrees) for 2 weeks, and then 4 weeks in the fridge?

I have a mini fridge in the basement that can probably hold a good amount of bottles. Think there'd be much adverse affect on me priming and bottling after 2 weeks and letting them sit in the fridge for the other two weeks? Or is that the optimal situation?

Just got back from the LHBS and I went to go scan in the recipe sheet when I noticed the very last line on the page: "Lager for one month at around 36 F before bottling." I don't have any kind of ferm chamber to keep this thing any cooler than ~50 F which is what I'd get in my basement. Am...

I've only had a few brews so far, but the more I read, the more people seem to emphasize the importance of curating your water profile to fit your brew. I haven't had any issues so far with what I pull from the tap, but I was curious what some of you who are more well-versed in this end of...

So does 3.17oz sound about right? Yeah, in the workshop it was on direct concrete. I guess the carpeted area I moved it to is resting upon concrete too. I'll try the next one on the ground floor. I can even move it upstairs too if I need to eek a little more heat out of the house, but I'm...

Hmm, didn't think it was that cold down there/that the fermentation reaction gave off that much heat. Good to know. Hopefully the WLP051 having spent its time at an average temperature of 62.5 degrees isn't too detrimental to the fermentation. I know the optimum temp was 66-70 degrees... I'll...

That's gonna go by recipe too though, right? I've got a fermwrap in my Amazon Wishlist for those that require a higher temp. I've learned a great deal about my house in just a week alone. Next time, I'm definitely keeping the fermenter on the ground part of my house for a steady temperature...

Put the fermenter bucket on the landing to the basement before I left for work today. Came home to the 64°F mark lit up on the thermometer strip, so it looks like I found my spot. It'll get another week there before I take my first FG reading, so hopefully it gets something out of it. Another...

Good to know that's the side effect of the temperature differences and how to avoid accumulation of fusel alchohol. I'll check the temperature to be sure, but I'd like to imagine the landing on the steps down to the basement might be slightly cooler than the rest of the house without being...

I used WLP051 California Ale V Yeast. Here's the full recipe too. I see on this page that optimum Ferm temp is 66°F-70°F, so I guess I am a bit low. I think in the next rendition, I would keep my bucket upstairs on the first floor of our house so it'll be more room temperature. I took...

Haha, no worries man, I've been there myself. I've got plenty of beer to keep me occupied for two weeks (just got back from Finback) so I can definitely wait to see what I've got. That's surprising to hear. I honestly expected the bucket to be a thick barrier for a thermometer that thin, but...

You mean I'm not supposed to dip my pinky into the froth on the top to feel the temperature? /s I haven't cracked the lid once! I bought one of those stick on thermometers that I placed on the outside of the bucket. I imagine they work better on those plastic carboys, but Amazon reviews...

So I stuck the thermometer I bought onto the fermenter bucket yesterday and checked the reading after work. Looks like it's 61 degrees down in the basement. Is that going to be problematic at all?

Gotcha. I'll be sure to give things a shake next time. Another thing I've learned in Round 1. I checked again this morning and it still looks like I have plenty of liquid in that one chamber, so hopefully it'll be enough. Good to know that isn't the end of the world though. Much appreciated.

Okay. I'll stick with what I have going until tomorrow. If it looks like much more sanitizer has escaped, I'll set up my other twin-bubble airlock and swap them out just to make sure I have something in there. If anybody else has any other suggestions, feel free to chime in.